Improvement in car-couplings



J'. W. ECKMA'N.

CAR-COUPLINGS.

No, 194,900, Patented Sept. 4,1877;

ZTNrrED STATES JOHN w. EGKMAN, or GREENFIELI), ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS- Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 194,900, dated September 4, 1877; application filed June 21,1877.

To all whom it may concern the car is drawn; consequently, when it isex- Be it known that I, JOHN W. EGKMAN, of tended outwardly to itsextreme distance it Greeniield, Green county, Illinois, have invented anImprovement in Railroad-Gar Coup; lers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full and correct description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation, Fig. 2 a front elevation, Fig. 3 a top view, and Fig. 4 alongitudinal section, of my invention.

My invention relates to the construction and operation of a car-coupler,by which cars may be automatically coupled and the coupler uncoupled andotherwise operated from the platform or from the top of the car.

My invention consists in hooking the coupling-link which is attached toeach car over a tooth cast upon the buffer or draw-head of either car,said link being thrust out by means of a system of levers operated by arock-shaft extending upward and a hand'wheel above the platform or topof the car, and said link being also elevated by means of another systemof levers operated by a rod extending upward in a similar manner to thefirst, all of which will more fully appear in the following description,and in the drawings which make part of this specification.

In the drawings, A represents the bufl'er or draw-head of an ordinarycar, constructed in the usual manner, excepting that upon the top iscast solid with the body of the drawhead a tooth, B, extending upwardabove the top of the bufl'er or draw-head, and having its outer sideinclined inward and its inner side extending backward in the form of alatch. Around the base of this tooth is a groove, a, of a sizesuflicient to receive the outer end of the coupling-link, so as tonearly, or quite, embed the link in the draw-head.

In the top of the draw-head is a dovetailed groove, extending from thetooth B inward nearly the whole length of the draw-head, in which slidesthe reciprocating slide 0. This slide 0 extends above the draw-head A,and to the outer end of said extension is attached the coupling-link D,by means of a hole through which the inner end of the link passes. Theslide 0, to which the couplinglink is attached, becomes the medium bywhich presses firmly against the solid end of the dovetailed groove; andthe solid base of the tooth B, thus making a firm attachment for thecoupling-link D.

In the inner end of the slide 0 is a horizontal slot, into which playsloosely one end of the lever e, the other end being pivoted upon theouter side of the car. About midway the lever e is attached the rod f,connecting the lever c with the arm you the rock-shaft H. The rock-shaftH is hung in hearings on the end of the car, and extends upwardandterminates in a hand-wheel at the top, by which it may be manipulated atwill.

Underneath the outer end of the link D are vertical pins 6 i, passingthrough holes. in the draw-head A. The lower ends of the pins 6 i aresecured to a spring, 8, the inner end of which is attached to the underside of the drawhead, and keeps the pinsi i from lifting the link D outof its groove.

The rock-shaft H is made hollow, and through it passes a rod, 15, thelower end of which is seated in one end of a lever, u, fulcrumed uponthe side of the support of the draw-head A, and the other end pressingloosely against the under side of the spring 8. The top of the rod 15terminates in a button, by which it may be depressed.

The operation of my device is as follows: When two cars are to becoupled thecouplinglink is to be thrust out in the following manner: Abrakeman, standing on the platform or upon the top of the car, is toturn the hand- Wheel, and thereby the rock-shaft H, to the right, thusthrowing the arm 9 outward, carrying the lever e in the same directionby means of the rod f. The end of the lever 6, playing loosely in a slotin the sliding bar 0, and the opposite end pivoted in the outer side ofthe car, will, of course, carry the sliding bar 0 outward, which will,in turn, carry the coupling-link D attached to it, outward with it. Theoutward movement of the link D is terminated by the sliding bar 0striking against the end of the dovetailed slot and the base of thetooth B. The cars are now ready to be coupled, and it only requires themovement toward each other, when the exraises the opposite end of saidlever, and so presses the spring 3 upward, raising the pins 2 i, theends of which press against the under side of the link D, raising itfrom its place behind the tooth B upon the opposite car. The link D maybe theu'withdrawn by reversing the rock-shaft H, when the sliding bar 0will be thrown inward, carrying the link with it until said link isagain settled into its groove atthe base of its own tooth.

The object of the groove is obvious when it is noticed that each car isprovided with a link and a tooth, so that either car may be made thecoupling-car, and when so made it is necessary to have the unused linkout of the way.

The advantages arising from my improved car-coupler are many; but itwill be necessary only to say that it preserves all the advantages ofthe link-connection, while it removes all risk of life in manipulatingthe coupling link and pin, as my link can be operated from the platformor thetop of a freight-car with ease, certainty, and security.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The draw-head A, provided with the tooth B upon its upper side, incombination with a sliding coupling-link, substantially as described. I

2. The draw-head A, provided with the tooth B upon its upper side, anddovetailed groove, in combination with slide (J, carrying thecoupling-link D, substantially as described.

3. The slide 0, carrying the coupling-link, and operated from theplatform or top of the car by means of the rock-shaft and handwheel H,arm 9, link f, and lever e, in combination with tooth B upon thedraw-head, substantially as described.

4. The grooved draw-head A, provided with tooth B, in combination withpins i 'i, operated by means of rod t, lever u, and spring 8,substantially as described.

5. The draw-head of a railroad-car, provided with a tooth to receive thecouplinglink, in combination with a coupling-link, provided withmechanism for thrusting out said link from the platform or top of thecar, substantially as described.

The above specification of my said invention signed and witnessed atWashington this 27th day of June, A D. 1877.

JOHN w. EOKMAN.

Witnesses 0. M. PARKS, JOHN R. ZIMMERMAN.

